The striker's latest goals came in a 3-2 win at Inverness for Ray McKinnon's side. Picture Michael Gillen.

But his agreement expires in January and with Rangers challenging at the top end of the Ladbrokes SPFL Premiership and strike options looking increasingly stretched, and Rudden in good form, there are growing fears at The Falkirk Stadium that Gers boss Steven Gerrard will look to restore him to the Ibrox set-up.

The Bairns though, would obviously love to keep him.

“We’ve got a few loans up in January that we’ll need to look at. Zak is one of them,” explained Ray McKinnon.

His goals have become invaluable to the Bairns who are keen to hold onto him. Picture Michael Gillen.

He admitted: “We would love to keep him longer. We have given him a good platform, and he’s scoring goals. He’s learning from the game time we’ve given him – and he’s maturing.